


gradually

by cherrygrl



Category: Haikyuu!!, haikyuu
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Reader-Insert, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:29:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23373199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrygrl/pseuds/cherrygrl
Summary: in which you and tooru keep crossing paths and eventually fall in love
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. moved

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time posting on ao3 !!!  
> im a mobile exclusive bitch so sorry if the formatting is ugly u_u 
> 
> anyways thank u for reading ☆
> 
> the song is potage by tricot !

"Fuck."

You release your first sigh of the day and lean against the bathroom stall wall. You thought that maybe by holding in your sighs your day at work would be a much more positive experience but you were wrong. Forcing yourself not to express your frustration as well as just allowing yourself to freely express it apparently had the same outcome: making shit worse. It's like letting it all out just made you feel even more frustrated because it was acknowledging how you were unable to combat it- and yet bottling it up suffocates you more than ever! You close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose, the smell of officetel restroom filling your nostrils and making you gag. It's time to walk home. Although exhaustion rings in your bones, so does longing for some good food and your comfy bed. You promptly exit the building.

"心の膜が剥がれ落ちてゆく

優しいポタージュ色の

キャラメルの味"

The concise strums of a guitar trickle into your ears, growing louder and louder the closer you get to the busy promenade. There's a languid melody that makes you feel at ease and yet unsettled at the same time. The air is warm and wafts through your hair like a lover's fingers, running through the strands and cooling your scalp.

"コーヒー飲もうよ 

世界がどうなっているとか

誰が悪いとか 

そんなことより

話したいことがあるわ"

You can't help it. The sounds are so clear now. The lemon tinted sunshine and the sweet, although polluted air stir something inside you. Something hideously sentimental. You pivot in the direction of the band and approach their set up. There's a small cluster of spectators already there, as if drawn in a trance just like you.

"あたしだけのものになんて

いつまでもならないで

どんなに硬い契約にも

心は報われない

だって絶対なんて絶対ないから"

Your eyes watch pretty fingertips dance across the frets of a mint fender like petals in the wind. The beat of the drums reverberates in the concrete beneath your feet, tickling your soles. Nostalgia for a past you've never lived through bubbles up in your chest for some reason and you want to cry. So you do! And what a good cry it is.

"小さな約束守れないの知ってるし

最初から一生許してあげる"

It's a quiet cry so as to keep from being an inconvenience but also intense enough to be visible on your face from your scrunched nose and pursed lips. Fat tears spill down your cheeks as you allow the melody to keep you swimming in the emotion, just feeling it without much thought.

"あたしの一生をあげる"

Before you realize it, the song is over and most of the crowd has dwindled. You sniffle and wipe your eyes with the back of your hand, inhaling and exhaling steadily to calm down. Chest now light and free of the day's burdens, you make a beeline to the guitar case propped open by an amp and toss in a twenty. Thank God they decided to busk today because whew boy you needed that. You hope nobody noticed you, and if they did you hope they don't say anything.

"That's very generous of you!"

Wow okay cool, nevermind. You turn in the direction of the voice, immediately met with pretty brown eyes and broad shoulders. A young man stands before you with a winning smile. You shrug nonchalantly, trying to play it cool. "It was a good song." He nods and shoves his hands in his pockets glancing over to the band briefly. "You're definitely right about that, but I don't think I've ever seen someone cry like that to a song before." He tosses a dollar into the case. "Are you okay?" That same saccharine smile is still on his face, almost making him look disingenuous if not for the concerned furrow of his brows. You stare at him for a second.

What are his intentions? Why is he so hot?

"Yes, I am. I was just moved is all." Regardless, it's none of his business you decide. He just stares at you for a second, his smile waning only a fraction at your curt response. His hair looks immaculately styled, honey brunette in the sunset's glare. You clench your fists at your sides, willing yourself not to get carried away by how handsome he is. 'Pretty brown eyes and broad shoulders' opens his mouth but you cut him off before his lips get halfway through forming even a syllable.

"Anyways, thank you for asking! I'm gonna ..go now!"

You grace the man with an awkward smile before scurrying off in the direction of the train station. It's been a long day and you want to go home. You wipe away the remaining dewy residue of tears from your cheeks and wonder what you'll have for dinner, if you'll ever see that stranger again, what you should wear tomorrow. The usual.


	2. laughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am just vibing at 4am.....here we go babie no beta we die like men !!!!!
> 
> thank u for reading also (◠‿・)—☆

Sunlight trickles in past the blinds, casting bars of gold across the sheets. Dust in the air is illuminated like tiny little stars and you watch them intently. It is calm and peaceful and quiet. You feel at ease here in bed, embraced by a puffy duvet and the smell of tropical detergent. Your head is clear and quiet from just waking up. Watching the dust waft in the light is almost therapeutic at this early hour. However, slowly remnants of self control begin to seep into your brain as though roused from slumber as well. You roll your eyes and begrudgingly sit up in bed, the room spinning for just a second as you stand up. You wish you could just sleep in and slip back into a vague dream you'll probably forget about when you wake up, but a bitch has to pay the bills somehow. The cold wood under your feet make a chill crawl up your spine and you quickly pad over to your bathroom for a shower. Time to start the day!

Life is good. It's not the most exciting or exceptional but it's good. Nice, even. It wasn't always supposed to be this way, you think as you idly wander the train platform. You're living and breathing and you have a stable job. Not bad at all! Nice, perhaps. But somehow you feel despair at the thought. Whether you had more ambitious designs for your life at this age of 19 or not, you can't remember. Life just passed by in such a blur. Deadlines, graduation, farewells, independence, and then indecision- one after the other in rapid succession. You hear an announcement that your train is arriving and lo and behold, in the distance you see it gliding toward you and the many other waiting civilians at the station.

You quickly shuffle inside with the mob and find an empty seat across from the exit. As you bob and sway with the motion of the train, you slip into your reverie again. When did you get so complacent? Why did you just settle? The thoughts fill you with dread and you look around to distract yourself. Fresh faced high school students in their uniforms, women in pristine pant suits with polished stilettos, weary eyed college students and their thermoses of coffee. You wonder if any of them know how you're feeling.

Ten minutes later you arrive at your stop. The air is crisp and chilly this early in the morning, but you know it will start to warm up little by little as the day goes by. The walk to your job from here is about five minutes. Hm, how convenient! What's also convenient is at this rate you're going to be fifteen minutes early! It wouldn't hurt to procure a little treat now would it? No, not at all you decide.

And so you do!

Espresso Planet is a humble café. It's halfway between the station and your job and it gets decent business. Fairly small and wedged between an antique thrift shop and an orthodontist office, it's your favorite place to grab a quick bite or drink. In semi-residential areas of Tokyo like this one it's especially quiet in the mornings so you opt to sit on the veranda out front.

You can't lie, it's fucking cold, but you want to enjoy the sunrise light bleeding into the silver clouds above like a watercolor attempt gone wrong. You idly sip at your chai tea latte, savoring it's gentle spice that bites your tongue and soothing warmth that crawls down your throat when you swallow. THIS is your slice of heaven, you think, head still in the parted clouds.

"Oh. My. God!"

You snap your head in the direction of the voice, startled once again.

Pretty brown eyes and broad shoulders is halfway through Espresso Planet's glass door- this time with the added glare of gold frame glasses and a crudely knitted maroon scarf. His mouth is wide open in a huge smile, elated to see you for some reason. He struggles between letting go of the door and striding over you for a few seconds, shifting around in place before he hastily widens the door and props it open with his foot. "Wait right there, okay!" he tells you before dashing inside. You watch him clearly through the glass walls, nervously shifting in your seat as he leans over the counter and makes the barista smile prettily and ring him up.

He comes back two minutes later with a cup in hand and a brown paper package sealed with a holographic sticker. He sits opposite from you at your wicker table, gently placing his items down and propping his head up in his hands. You politely cease your idle tea sipping and smile at him, something he is all too keen to reciprocate.

"So, small world right?" He chuckles a little at the thought.  
"Yeah, I guess. Sorry about yesterday.." you cut to the chase.  
He lofts a single brow in confusion. "What are you sorry for?"  
"I don't know, I just feel weird that you saw me cry and said something and I just-" A car drives by and you stop talking, readjusting your posture.  
"Ran away?" He smirks a little, the lofted brow still arched high.  
You don't know why that makes you squirm. Usually you're decent at talking to people, maybe even great at it! You're honest and friendly. Why are you so nervous? Maybe it's because those pretty brown eyes are framed by thick lashes and double eyelids? Maybe it's because those hands cradling his chin are taped up in bandages for some reason? You opt for the latter.

"Are you okay?" You gesture to his fingers and smoothly take a sip of your drink, desperately trying not to swallow too loudly. He sits up, examining them as if he had forgotten they were bandaged. "Oh, these? Yeah, I'm good! It's for like, strength and stuff." Interesting. You nod curtly with a small sound of acknowledgement. "Anywaaays," he continues breezily, "You don't have to apologize. I'm the one who should apologize for pestering you."  
'No, don't-"anxiety grips you and you pull your phone from your pocket to check the time

7:45 AM • Battery 92%

Fuck. If you want to make it to work on time you're gonna have to hustle. "I actually really have to go now, but it was nice talking to you!" You stand from your seat and start to make your way past the veranda gate. You feel bad for leaving so abruptly, he does seem nice, but a bitch has to pay the bills somehow. And rent isn't gonna get paid with a warning for tardiness from your manager. "Have a good rest of the da-"

"Wait a second."

You halt in your movements, his voice a touch deeper than before. "Uh, yeah?" He smiles over the lid of his drink, eyes suddenly sharper than before. "I want to properly apologize to you, really." He stands up from his seat and stands before you, demeanor somehow different compared to his cheerful, almost ditzy disposition earlier. "Maybe I can take you out to lunch sometime to make it up to you?" There's that saccharine smile again, almost fake but not at the same time.

You don't want to jump to conclusions or anything but doesn't this kind of sound like he's asking you out..? I mean, like, not to be weird or anything but....you've seen this shit in dramas and movies y'know? And he is pretty hot not gonna lie...but...well...urgh you should probably say something now, right?

You gather your composure as best as you can. "Um, yeah, look you're completely cool. It was really my fault in the first place!" You adjust the strap of your work bag on your shoulder. "I mean, well not really, but you don't owe me anything! I was just crying and you were nice enough to check in, which is great and all but you shouldn't feel obliated-" You don't know why you're making animated gesticulations as you ramble but it's happening.

"Well if you say so! I guess that means if you're taking responsibility you're gonna have to treat me instead, right?"

Oh my fucking God.  
You can't help it.

"Wow that was the corniest shit..." You trail off into breathless laughter. Your initial panic melts away. He's a whole dork! You find it hard to believe someone would use a line sounding straight out of an anime like that but from how confident he sounded with his delivery...you make like Naruto and believe it. His expression is stunned at first before it morphs into a sour pout, cheeks puffed and arms crossed like a child. "What?!" He sputters in disbelief. "No way, I thought it was pretty...charming in...a way?" This makes your laughter worse and you have to stabilize yourself on his bicep to keep from falling over.

The sight of your amusement is infectious, and after getting over his initial annoyance Pretty Brown Eyes and Broad Shoulders is joining you.


End file.
